The roster’s almost the same, but this is a far different team than last year.
No longer a newcomer mired at the bottom of the conference standings, the 2008-2009 Glacier Wolfpack are a legitimate Class AA state championship contender. In only its second year, the boys basketball program at Glacier High School has emerged as one of the most entertaining, high-scoring shows in Montana high school basketball.
With last week’s 66-44 victory over cross-town rival Flathead High School, the Wolfpack earned a well-deserved berth to the state tournament, which will be held in Butte on March 12-14. Glacier finished the season with a 15-6 (10-3) record and Western AA’s second seed behind Helena Capital. The Wolfpack kick off the tourney on March 12 at 9 a.m. against Bozeman.
Senior Ben Cutler, the leading scorer in the state at 23.3 points per game, is understandably giddy heading into the finale of his distinguished prep career.
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Glacier High School head basketball coach Mark Harkins talks to his team in the locker room after their 66-44 win over Flathead High School to advance to state. |
“It’s a dream come true – a dream come true,” Cutler said.
His teammates share his exuberance. And they should. Last year, the team was trying to figure out where it belonged, struggling through a tough learning curve en route to a 3-18 season record. This year, in a remarkable turnaround, the boys know where they belong: in the Class AA state tournament with the best of the best.
Head coach Mark Harkins said his players reacted to last season’s inevitable difficulties the proper way: They headed to the gym and the weight room in the off-season. Showing up as early as 6 a.m. in the spring and summer, the Wolfpack literally transformed themselves.
Cutler’s physique is clearly sturdier, as are the builds of many of his teammates. Junior Shay Smithwick-Hann, the Wolfpack’s solid 6-foot-4 post, matured from a scrappy sophomore into the third-best rebounder in the state, pulling down nearly 10 boards a game to go along with his 13.1 points. Seniors Ben Sansaver and Josh Doty have grown into dangerous outside weapons on offense. Fellow senior Mike Rasmussen is a force near the basket.
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Glacier’s Connor Fuller, left, drives around Connor Tice during last week’s win over Flathead High School. |
And the Wolfpack have to be in shape. It’s almost exhausting just watching them. They push the ball up the court on every rebound and they even try to run past the defense after they inbound the ball. Harkins does a good job with his substitutions, ensuring that fresh legs are always on the floor. Sansaver and junior Connor Fuller, bringing different styles of floor leadership, orchestrate the run-and-gun tempo as an alternating point guard tandem.
Even Smithwick-Hann tries his hand at point guard. More often than most posts you’ll see anywhere in the state, Smithwick-Hann will grab a rebound and take the ball up himself, dribbling with his eyes up like a guard and finding open teammates. Glacier is the second-highest scoring team in the state behind Billings West at 64 points per game.
“We feel if we can get up and down the court, we’re as good as any team in the state,” Smithwick-Hann said.
This is a confident Wolfpack team and Cutler is the most apt example. Cutler’s facial expressions don’t change even after five straight missed shots. He knows he’s a good shooter so, adhering to an age-old mantra that coaches preach to their best scorers, he keeps shooting. A one-man, 10-point Cutler run is not unheard of and, in fact, is an important facet of Glacier’s up-tempo game.
But at the state tournament, even the swiftest are reined in. Harkins fully expects his team to have to slow down and prove itself in the halfcourt set. You can’t outrun everybody, all the time, especially when you’re facing the best teams from the highest division in the state’s high school system.
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Mike Rasmussen goes airborne driving to the net against Flathead’s Jesse Bennett during last week’s game at Glacier High School. |
Harkins has no doubt that his team can alter its style of play when necessary. After all, this is a team of transformation and adaptation. Cutler might not get 25 points every game and the offense’s other sparkplugs will have their off-games as well. But the Wolfpack have enough balance to keep defenses off guard, not to mention they’re a unified bunch.
“There’s no egos on our team and we just come out and like to play,” Smithwick-Hann said.
Where Glacier will run into perhaps its biggest challenge is down low – on both offense and defense. Smithwick-Hann is the Wolfpack’s tallest starter, though with his solid frame he plays bigger than he is. Doty is 6 feet 3, but is predominantly a wing, as is 6-foot-3 sophomore Colter Hanson.
The talented Hanson, however, is versatile and can drop down to the blocks when needed. At 6 feet 5, Chad Gassaway provides height off the bench, but some Class AA rosters have multiple starters that match up favorably to that size.
Harkins will look to his seven seniors during the tournament, as he has throughout the regular season. He doesn’t have to tell them what’s at stake.
“The leadership they bring is incredible,” Harkins said. “When you’re a senior you know this is your last hoorah in high school basketball.”